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Granderson slowly regaining timing, rhythm

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Granderson's first 2013 homer 0:50

5/22/13: Curtis Granderson hits a towering shot over the right-center-field wall for his first home run of the season

By Bryan Hoch
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MLB.com |

BALTIMORE -- Curtis Granderson has been working on knocking off the rust after spending most of the season on the disabled list, and he has been reviewing video with hitting coach Kevin Long in hopes of getting his swing right.

It's always nice when a few results start to come into play. Batting leadoff against the Orioles on Wednesday, Granderson went 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored, finishing a triple short of the cycle.

"That's just baseball," Granderson said. "It's a matter of a game, a pitch, a swing, all the stuff like that. It doesn't necessarily mean anything is resolved by any means, it's just one game."

Manager Joe Girardi had Granderson leading off because he said that Ichiro Suzuki's numbers against Orioles starter Jason Hammel (7-for-14) factored into his thinking and that he wanted to give Brett Gardner an extended break with Thursday's off-day.

Granderson is trying to get his timing and rhythm right, and suggested that he might need just one swing or at-bat to turn things around. He also said that because of his late start, the sample size on which to judge him has been quite small.

"I felt like across the board everything was roughly the same," he said. "You look at the two balls that were hit [on Tuesday]; if they're a few inches left or right, they could go as two hits. Today, same thing. If they were two inches left or right, they could go as outs. Just continue to keep swinging it, and working with K-Long. That's the big thing right now."

With Gardner on the bench, Granderson started on Wednesday in center field. He has also played left field and right field since returning and has not been affected by bouncing around.

"It doesn't matter to me. I've played all three outfield positions before," he said before the game. "It's just a matter of when and where. I look at the lineup every day, and it's always going to potentially change, like it has been since I've been here. It's not anything different for me."

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.